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Ares Fighting Championship is the first MMA promotion to cancel an event due to the coronavirus outbreak.
ARES Fighting Championship officials are not taking any risks when it comes to the coronavirus outbreak.
The European MMA promotion was scheduled to host ARES 2 in Brussels, Belgium on April 2 but officials announced on Friday that that the event had been postponed to October 30 due to concerns surrounding the spread of coronavirus, which has reportedly infected a total of 100,000 people worldwide and claimed the lives of 3,400.
ARES officials released the following statement earlier today.
“The coronavirus epidemic raises serious questions about contagion in closed environments. We don’t know at this stage how the situation will evolve. The health of our audience, international fighters, and staff is our utmost concern and we are not willing to take any unnecessary risks.
“With the full support of all our partners involved and that of the ARES fighters themselves, ARES Fighting Championship has therefore decided to postpone the event.”
Fans who have already bought tickets for ARES 2 will be be able to attend the event at the rescheduled date but are also eligible to claim a full refund.